I found this statement on a blog I visit occasionally:
“I heard a sermon yesterday in which the pastor quoted from Abraham Lincoln to summarize the gospel:‘malice toward none, charity toward all.‘”
I asked the person who submitted the post if it was Abe’s Lincoln personal summary of the gospel, or what was considered by the pastor to be a good summary of the gospel. I asked out of curiosity, since whenever I hear the term ‘gospel’ used, I invariably am reminded of how the Apostle Paul ‘summarized’ the gospel of Jesus Christ to the church at Corinth (reemphasized, actually).
“Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.” (1 Cor 1-7)
Regardless of who considered that quote a ‘summary of the gospel’, the same question exists – is it really a ‘summary’, or a smaller piece of the whole – the ‘big picture’? After all, that sentiment can also be found in other religions and can be said to be the individual’s responsibility in response to/working out of his/her religion. Or, it can be just a good principle to live by and not be connected to ANY religion.
I’m not saying anything here to personally criticize anyone, especially the author of the comment that started me thinking about all the ways I’ve heard the gospel of Jesus Christ summarized lately, without a mention of sin, or with a wrong definition of sin (sin is just bad things we do occasionally or some unseen gulf between us and God). It’s a reminder to me that when I share the gospel with anyone, I need to include the ‘sin’, it’s proper definition as something the corrupted humans to the ‘uttermost’, and then God’s remedy – belief in His Son.
The Battle Cry 
It is amazing how we’ve “watered down” the gospel to suit our own philosophies. I wonder if people hear the question asked of Jesus, “What was the greatest commandment?” and then assume His response was the gospel message. It seems that’s what was being said in the instance you gave – which I agree is not the gospel message. It certainly had no elements of the gospel Peter or Paul preached. A nice thought, an explanation of the golden rule, maybe. Glad you brought this up…we need to think critically as we are endeavoring to be gracious.
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Michelle, Thanks for stopping by!
Interesting comment. Is all ‘watering down’ due to our philosophies (much of it is), or is there also an element of the enemy being busy subtly influencing minds instead of one of his other roles, the accuser of the brethren (and sistren).:) Jesus did summarize the big Ten ‘don’t do this but do that’ commandments about love. Somewhere along the road, the summary of the law became also the summary of the gospel message. The working out of that in the lives of those commissioned to share the gospel message then becomes “love everybody and if you get the chance tell them Jesus died for their sins”, instead of sharing the gospel message because you love them and that Jesus dying for their sins is the greatest expression of love in human history.
The only reason I asked who considered the nugget from Abraham Lincoln a ‘summary’ is that it’s sometimes easy/natural for someone sitting the pew to accept that if they have heard is from a pastor. For that average person, it can get sorted by individual Bible reading and study. The pastor who misses the point is another matter.
The intentional watering down of the gospel is, as you said, the product of applying our own philosophies to scripture and another HUGE subject in these times.
Have a great day and an even greater Lord’s day!
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